Since the end of next week is the beginning of summer break, this may be the last newsletter you read…. Please give me grace for its length and the extensive information. 🥺
Please join us on Thursday, May 21st for our end of the year celebration. You are welcome to join us for Mass at 8:30. We will be recognizing Christian Leaders and Honor Roll. While school will end at noon, the PTO is sponsoring a party from 10:00-1:00 including food and activities. We are looking forward to seeing everyone there as we say our summer good-byes.
As we come to the end of the year, I find it important to reflect on what we have done well and where we have the opportunity to improve. Our focus on continuous improvement is similar to what we ask of our students in school and with MAP tests…. GROW
As the staff and I work with each other, our families, and the parish to identify changes and improvement, we should celebrate our success.
Some of our accomplishments this year include:
Catholic Identity –
Grow in our faith –
More regular servers at each Mass on the weekends
Families and students joined the church – Students of all ages were baptized or are in the process of exploring baptism.
Implemented the use of Hallow to facilitate prayer at school and at home. Since Ash Wednesday, the school community has prayed 886 prayers and 13,284 minutes
Utilized prayer square to highlight school wide learning expectations
Uses tangible examples to visualize what it means to be a learner, friend, steward and disciple
Strengthen our relationship with the parish
Fr. John is visible in the classrooms
Fr. John implementing a parish-wide newsletter with input from the school and foodbank
Deacons are visiting classrooms and sharing knowledge, experiences, and perspective
Developed a St. Mary’s 2030 Strategic Plan in coordination with the parish
Students participated in Washing of the Feet on Holy Thursday Mass
Student led Mass to kick -off Catholic Schools Week, the school year, and the capital campaign
Continued traditions – Shrove Tuesday, Dia de Muertos, Living Stations of the Cross, Crowning of Mary
St. Mary’s community conducted a very successful Capital Campaign aimed at improving the school building. Work to begin summer of 2026.
Academic Excellence –
Improve academic performance
Outpaced National Catholic Average in growth and/or performance in almost every grade level with respect to Spring 2026 MAP testing in Reading, Language Usage, and Mathematics
Reading intervention was initiated to assist students one on one or in small groups
Math intervention continues with supplementing Math instruction for elementary students
Leveraged the expertise of staff members to begin to address intervention needs more directly
Began to utilize IXL to target specific skills for students to improve in math and reading
Invest in student, staff and curriculum development
95% classroom teacher retention for the upcoming 2026-27 school year
Training – Math Literacy Night, IXL, Hallow
Continued with the school emotional support dog – Cedar
Family Engagement –
Increase the opportunities to be engaged
Name Boise Favorite Private School for 2025 – Second year in a row!
Named Boise Favorite PreSchool 2025
90% Student retention for the 2025-26 school
Hispanic Heritage Fair – Highlighting cultural activities from Spanish speaking countries everywhere
Increasing attendance at Prayer Square, School Mass, School events
New volunteer system
More frequent communication from PTO and social media presence
Fundraising and Fun-Raising
Successful Capital Campaign for the St. Mary’s community –
St. Mary’s Gala raised over $145,000 for the school
Record fundraising in Spartan Run, Peach Sales
PTO continues to explore opportunities to bring the community together, such as Breakfast with St. Nick
Growth and Expansion –
Tell the story to grow the school
Added 48 students at the beginning of the year
Added full time counselor – We love Mrs. Maritt
Added two new teachers in 2025-26 – Ms. Heffner and Mr. Bernal
Early Education Discovery Fair participant through Boise with Kids
Mexican Dancers at JUMP, Festival of Trees, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dia de los niños
Pre-Kindergarten was licensed through the State of Idaho
Expand course offering or enhance current courses
New Spelling program implemented elementary school wide
IXL
After school Mathnasium
After school STEM program
After school Mexican Dance group
This is only a small sample of all the wonderful and positive things happening every day at St. Mary’s. We are a dynamic and active community that works cooperatively to enhance the lives of our children, their families and each other.
Thank you for being part of St. Mary’s. We are already planning on how to continuously improve next year and beyond.
Please pray for our 8th graders as they complete a class retreat in Cottonwood at St. Gertrude’s
Last Week of School – Calendar and Events
Monday, May 18 – PreKindergarten- Come and visit Honeyville with the PreK’ers at their end of the year celebration at 10:00 on Monday.
Monday, May 18 – Kindergarten graduation – Our Kindergarteners will dawn their caps and gowns to cross over to the first grade. The ceremony begins at 11:00 in the church.
Tuesday, May 19 – 8th grade graduation – The class of 2026 will graduate on Tuesday evening at 6:30 pm.
Wednesday, May 20 – Bowling and Field Day – Wednesday is a day of fun and community. We start the day bowling. Permission slips will be going home and we can always use help with drivers. – Following bowling, we will head to the park for lunch and field day.
Thursday, May 21 – Mass and Carnival – Last day of School – 12:00 dismissal – Thursday starts with Mass at 8:30. Everyone is welcome to attend. We will be recognizing our Christian Leaders and Honor Roll at the end of Mass.
At 10:00 the entire school is invited to the end of the year Carnival sponsored by the PTO. Families are welcome to join us at 12:00, when school is released for the summer.
When the school and the families work cooperatively, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. Our work helps our students and our community grow.
OUR MISSION:
St. Mary’s School is to provide a Catholic environment that instills academic excellence while preparing the whole child for life-long personal and spiritual growth, empowering them to become global citizens.
Math Packs – Heading home
Mrs. Russell has put together math packets that are coming home over the next couple of days. The packets include games and activities to keep students learning, but in a different way. Mrs. Russell has also created math work folders (this is the link!) that are available to you through our website if that is more their style. Please see Parent Quick Links, Summer Math for direct access.
We recognize the importance of recharging the batteries and enjoying our summer, but it would be nice for every student to do a little math and read some words during the break.
Medication Pick-Up Reminder
Dear Parents & Guardians,
As we wrap up the school year, please remember to:
Pick up your child’s medications
Daily medications
“As needed” (PRN) medications
Deadline: May 21st
For safety reasons, medications cannot be sent home with students and must be picked up by an adult. Thank you for helping us keep everyone safe!
Summer Health Check
Summer is a great time to get ready for the next school year!
Please remember to schedule a visit with your child’s pediatrician to:
Update any required immunizations Review and sign off on important health plans:
Allergy Action Plans
Asthma Action Plans
Seizure Action Plans
Migraine Action Plans
Technology at Home
The use of technology at home and at school presents ongoing challenges and temptations of all of us. During the year, in the class and out, we will continue to provide you with resources to help you and your children. In the past we have shared information and access to the Social Institute. We have had guest speaker come to talk to students about social media. Mrs. Maritt has given lessons to help students understand the power they have.
In the past most of our attention has been directed at phones, tablets, or laptops. Unfortunately, the issues continue to all kinds of devices. Any device that connects to the internet should be a source of concern. Independent gaming devices with internet access have messaging capability and potentially access to inappropriate images, videos, or words.
Recently, one of our parents shared the following document concerning Digital Citizenship. I encourage you to read as much as you can in order to keep our children safe.
May 12-14 – 8th Grade Retreat
May 18 – Pre-K Celebration
May 18 – Kindergarten Graduation
May 19 – 8th Grade Graduation
May 20 – Bowling (morning) – Field Day (afternoon)
May 21 – Last Day of School – Mass and Carnival
God Bless and Take Care
Kevan Grant
St. Mary’s Catholic School – Principal
Go Spartans!
Other Things
State of the School 2026 – An email was sent last week with the State of the School Address. This year I opted to do something different. Instead of a written report or slide show, I asked Krista Holdridge, PTO President, to interview me about the current and future state of St. Mary’s. If I drone on for too long, please feel free to speed up the play back to 1.5 or 2.0. My feelings will not be hurt.
Bishop Kelly – Summer Sports Camps – Bishop Kelly sports programs offer a number of camps throughout June and July. The ages and grades vary based on the sport. Camps range from football to basketball, to lacrosse and much, much more. Please use the link above to investigate and register.
Uniform Provider Change (Kind of) –Educational Outfitters has merged with Skobel’s School Uniforms. This is exciting for St. Mary’s. Skobel’s has some great benefits to our families including: increased inventory, guarantee on-time delivery and much more. Please see the linked letter for more information. Skobel’s – On-Line Uniform Store: St. Mary’s
2026-27 Re-enrollment and Enrollment – Some of our classes are filling up. Please be sure to complete your re-enrollment to secure your spot for the 2026-27 school year. We are providing tours, shadow days, and fielding inquiries daily. Thank you for supporting St. Mary’s and sharing your experience with others.
Partnership Page – St. Mary’s supports the businesses that support us. The school has a webpage dedicated to our business partnerships. If you are looking for something, I encourage you to check out the directory. If you are interested in listing your business, please contact Mandy at the front office. We would love to continue to grow our partnerships and encourage support for our St. Mary’s businesses.
Recycled Textiles – St. Mary’s is going to be collecting used clothing, purses, bedding, towels, hats, bags and other used garments for recycling. We are entering into a partnership with Just Porch It to collect and recycle textiles. We will have a bag in the cafeteria beginning in January if you have any items to discard.
Dress Code –As the weather becomes colder and the first semester comes to an end, it is important we reiterate our dress code expectations with you and the students. Please find the specifics in the link above. Please take a few minutes to review the dress code with your students. We would appreciate your support with:
St. Mary’s Sweatshirts are the only sweatshirts permitted. All other sweatshirts are to stay at home.
Hair must be trimmed neatly and not fall into the students eyes.
Return to School Policy– Each year the nurses evaluate and provide a return to school policy to keep us as healthy as possible during the school year. Please be sure to review the linked letter.
Bishop Kelly Athletics – Bishop Kelly has a plethora of athletics happening throughout the year. The BK website has a link to team pageswith game schedules.
